Hope & Gloria - Sewing Inspiration for Children

Saturday, May 7, 2016

As everyone does each January, I made New Year's Resolutions. Not too many, but one of them was to improve my crochet skills.

I have dabbled in crochet a little over the past few years but never really felt fully committed. Stitching and knitting have always taken up my precious spare time - both of which I feel pretty confident about. I have mentioned before that I was taught to knit and sew by the women in my family when I was a child but crochet lessons have come in the form of a book and I can safely say that I am self taught.

A few weeks ago I became frustrated with a knitting pattern for a lacy scarf which I just couldn't seem to get right so I decided to swap my knitting needles for a crochet hook for a while and I thought I'd share the results so far.

To me it seems that the secret to crochet success can be found by holding the yarn in a way that is most comfortable for you and also getting the tension right - the two seem to be linked. In order to get these things right I began my new crochet adventures with a simple project - A Colourful Cafetiere Cosy....

The cosy was made using a simple double crochet stitch and scraps of wool. I love the bright colours mixed in with the neutral cream and this project also provided a great way to get back in to the swing of crochet.

Setting my sights a little higher I embarked on a crocheted cushion. This project is made using half treble stitches and again is a great practice project. I made this one up as I went along and the colours were chosen because they happened to be in my knitting box next to my arm chair. I hadn't intended to use these colours but they were close to hand and the cushion has turned out to be in a funky retro style which I love.

I even managed to crochet some button holes so that I could use these gorgeous, bright orange buttons on the back.

The front of the cushion is finished off with three cute flowers - these were from a lovely Nicky Trench pattern that I found online and they took just minutes to make - another great beginners project.

I am delighted with the results and the cushion brings a lovely splash of summer sunshine to my workroom.

I'll be sharing how to make this simple but effective project in my next blog post. In the meantime I'll be starting a Granny Square Blanket - this crochet business is addictive!

Hope & Gloria Childrens' Sewing

About Me

Hello my name is Keeley. I am the Founder and Director of Hope & Gloria Ltd and I am very lucky that my favourite pastime and passion is also my career. I started Hope & Gloria Ltd four years ago with a sewing club at my childrens' school. Today at Hope & Gloria my team and I teach 550, 7 to 11 year olds how to sew each week. Our clubs run in schools across the East Berkshire and North Surrey area. We also run hugely popular holiday workshops. It is quite simply incredibly rewarding. I love everything about my job from designing the projects we make in our clubs through to seeing them completed by the children who come to our clubs. Children adore making cool and funky accessories which they are proud to take home.
Sewing has always been a passion of mine. I was lucky enough to be taught to sew, embroider and knit by my truly wonderful Grandmother and Aunt from the age of five. This led to a lifelong passion and these days I remain addicted to beautiful fabric.
My other full time job is being a Mum to my three amazing boys aged 13, 12 and 10 - my most rewarding challenge.
I live in Berkshire with my fab husband Giles, our boys, our dog Elsie and cat Bear.